Dian Kuswandini , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 12/18/2008
Another former ambassador was convicted of graft, while a serving envoy escaped prosecution Wednesday as Corruption Court judges settled a case that has tarnished the country’s diplomatic corps.
SITTING (NO SO) PRETTY: Former Indonesian ambassador to Singapore Mochamad Slamet Hidayat (left) talks to his lawyer (out of picture) at the Corruption Court in Jakarta on Wednesday. He was sentenced to three years in jail over a corruption case. (JP/J. Adiguna)
The court sentenced former Indonesian ambassador to Singapore Mochamad Slamet Hidayat and former embassy treasurer Erizal to three years in jail each for abuse of authority.
The two were found guilty of marking up the budget allocated for renovation work at the embassy and houses on Chatsworth Road in Singapore in 2003, leading to state losses of Rp 8.4 billion.
The court also ordered each defendant to pay Rp 150 million (about US$13,635) in fines.
Slamet and Erizal must also pay S$280,000 and S$120,000 in restitution to the state, or face a further six months behind bars.
“The defendants have been proven lawfully and convincingly to have committed collective graft. They have shown unprofessional conduct and tainted the image and reputation of Indonesia in the international community,” presiding justice Masrurdin Chaniago said.
However, the men were found not guilty of two secondary charges of obstruction of justice and bribery.
Earlier this year, the same court jailed two former Indonesian ambassadors to Malaysia, Hadi Wayarabi and Rusdihardjo, for doubling passport processing fees for migrant workers.
The Attorney General’s Office is currently investigating a graft case implicating the former Indonesian envoy to China.
Slamet, who served as ambassador from 2003 and 2006, said earlier in the trial he had paid US$200,000 in bribes to his accomplice, former Foreign Ministry secretary-general Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat.
He claimed Sudjadnan, currently Indonesian ambassador to the United States, had asked him for the money in November 2003, for approving the budget proposal and passing it on to the Finance Ministry for approval.
Sudjadnan took the proposal to the Finance Ministry, which later disbursed Rp 16.4 billion for the renovation of the embassy in Singapore.
Slamet had asked Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors to investigate Sudjadnan as well as Sutarni from the ministry’s financial division and former deputy ambassador Eddy Haryadi, whom Slamet said had received S$120,000 and S$140,000, respectively.
The KPK has twice questioned Sudjadnan in connection with the bribery allegations. Both Slamet and Erizal remained tightlipped after the trial. But, when leaving the courtroom Erizal burst into tears.
Nairdah (not verified) — Thu, 12/18/2008 - 1:31pm
A very light sentence indeed. Not only has this senior bureaucrat ripped off the people's money but has greatly embarrassed Indonesia. That deserves a much heavier sentence.
I truly wonder what is the personal morality of the bureaucrats and politicians that go on criminally stealing from the people of Indonesia. Their greed means less money for the needy people, the poor,the ill and above all, the education system. They surely have no sense of shame, no commitment to their nation.
It is a 'public secret' that almost every Government employee and most politicians regularly practice 'mark up' as a routine way of stealing from the citizens of Indonesia. I hope that KPK can expand on their already impressive performance. But until there is genuine reform in terms of accountability in the public service the corruption and stealing from the citizens of Indonesia will flourish.
Which Presidential candidate is prepared to commit to a blitz campaign to protect the people's finances from criminally corrupt public servants and to restore Indonesia's image as a moral nation?
Ekyah (not verified) — Thu, 12/18/2008 - 10:34am
"Slamet and Erizal must also pay S$280,000 and S$120,000 in restitution to the state, or face a further six months behind bars."
Lets see....
S$280,000 + S$120,000 = S$400,000
S$400,000 / 182 days / 2 persons = S$1099 per day per person.
I'm pretty sure they will choose to go to jail since they can make more money in jail then outside.